CS-Nation

Covering the future of Counter-Strike
newbie advice
mailbag: newbie advice
This week's topic? Newbie advice! Let's hop right in.
from: -Dice
The best advice that I could give is to watch someone who already knows the basics of the game. Not just watching through spectator mode, but finding a buddy who has CS and spending a couple hours fragging and eating prawn chips. After the newbie has seen his/her friend play a few rounds, then it's time for him/her to take the controls, with his/her friend giving helpful tips, such as "Turn left here!" or "Hit 'G' to drop your gun and pick up the AK!" or "Type 'kill' in the console!"

Whatever you do, you shouldn't ever ask a newbie to shoot him/herself. Not a good question to ask the teenagers full of angst that frequent our site.
Yeah, like anyone would watch your real life friends play CS instead of going to parties, watching movies, or even engaging in sexual relations with the opposite sex. CS should be a guilty pleasure, hidden from peering eyes. The fact that you play it should be a shushed secret never to be told, much like that time you saw your neighbor murdering the mailman.
from: Exo
Do specific tasks. One day, use only deagle. The next, only colt, the next only ak, etc etc etc. I did that for about 3 months (on and off) and my skill improved greatly.
I hate gimmick players. That's like if some lonely guy only wore shoes one day and then the next day they only wore a shirt. Only a real loser would do that.

It's common knowledge that it's mittens after shoes, not a shirt. Duh.
from: Tech N9ne
This is rizzuh's secret way of asking for help.

RIZZUH EXPOSED!
Please, the only cries for help I've had was that time I tried to kill myself by jumping off of a trampoline and that time I came out of the closet.
from: f0liage^
Reading the comments on CS-Nation should help the newbies improve their flaming skills.
Finally, some useful advice! Start in our biggest pile of crap thread ever.
from: sPaNkThEmOnKeY
While dead (which will probably be often as a newbie), follow the players with the best score around to see their game tactics, map tricks, camping spots, etc. You can learn a lot from doing this. Just don't watch me dammit.
I totally agree. You can even wake them up at night and start tormenting their loved ones with random noises!

Oh wait you mean dead inside of the game, not in real life! What a hilarious folly.
from: Mosher_311
To improve your skills you must lock yourself in a room with your computer, listen to Enya nonstop, don't shower, quit your job, leave your spouse, and drink Red Bull with Vodka while playing CS for 3 days straight. You'll either be ready to play in Cal-i or go insane.
That's pretty harsh. Instead of leaving your spouse you could always lock her in your basement for days on end; I mean have some compassion!
from: OddEye
Everytime I watch a newbie play, I just wonder, why the hell are the crosshairs pointed at the ground? I think they could improve there game tremendously by just looking strait forward instead of watching there feet.
Yeah, keeping your crosshair up is a pretty smart thing to do as you'll be ready for an enemy at any moment. That's why I walk around with erections!
from: Jabberwock
This is hard to explain. I think improving your game not only involves your aim, but also with how you play the game. Thinking a step ahead of the others.

I think the best way for a newbie to improve their game involves one thing. Time. The more you play, the better you'll get. Though occassionally as an admin, I see some newbie (and you can tell by the way they move or jump over things) comes along and 2 maps later they go 45-2. I think we know how they improved.

As for guns, no doubt the mp5 is the best newbie weapon. Holding 4 extra magazines with 30 rounds a piece and not having a huge spray pattern helps. Once you get better and just want to refine your skills or take it to the next level, no doubt you'll want to master the awp, AK-47, Colt, and DEagle.

Regarding maps, it really ties in with the time factor. The more you play a map, the better you'll become. Let's take a newbie for example. He plays for about 1.5 to 2 hours a night. That's roughly 3 to 4 maps. If one night he plays dust, dust2, cbble, and italy then the next night he sees aztec, train, prodigy, and militia, he probably will have to concentrate on learning the map as well as learning how to shoot in CS (since it is different from other FPS games). On the other hand, if someone comes in and plays dust, dust2, cbble, and italy all the time, they will get quickly acquainted with the map and can deal with other things quicker.
They call the game you're talking about chess, you crazy nerd! Go install linux or something.
from: Alienmorph
Through experience, spectating, and playing like a crazy kamikaze on steriods. If you have a friend to teach you, that could help also. On the other hand, if you see "n00b", "loser", and fag flash across your screen after dying, you learn awfully quick. The map I learned CS on was de_train, partly because the "clan" I joined had an infatuation with train. I personally love the map, it's easy to learn, and if you want, you can settle down and camp. The easiest gun is obviously the mp5. Newbies tend to favor the Para for some reason.
If you love the map, you can settle down and camp. It's so special that you're thinking about commitment at such a young age.
from: newbie_roo
Stay with your teammates, stick to the mp5 navy (and maybe the m4a1 colt), and stick to the simpler maps (de_dust, de_dust2, de_aztec, cs_italy...if you can stand it cs_assault).

Maps like fy_iceworld do not improve your early game, only your early frustration at getting killed and worse reinforcing the bad habit of thinking CS is HLDM. Stay away from deathmatch, 15 second round maps.

I would say staying with my teammates was the most difficult thing to remember at first, much moreso than keeping my crosshairs high, listening, walking quietly, aiming, not panicing and spraying my AK all over the place.

I still mess up in these other areas (the panicing, not aiming, stuff) but staying with the team, being a part of a plan, improves my game every time. And my enjoyment, which makes me play better anyway.
Iceworld is hard even for good CS players since it only tests one aspect of CS skill: aim. Newbies should stay away from it like it's some form of biotoxen floating in the skies waiting to devour your soul.